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Harvard Business School receives roughly 10,000 applications each admissions cycle. Now, pause for a moment to appreciate that mind-boggling number. We\u2019re not mentioning it to scare off potential applicants. Instead, we want to drive home the point that a high percentage of those people are intelligent and impressive\u2014just like you! That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to approach the Harvard MBA essay strategically to increase your odds of receiving an interview invite.<\/p>\n
Our\u00a0SBC team<\/a>\u00a0includes several former HBS Admissions Officers who evaluated thousands of applications and made decisions on whom to interview and admit.\u00a0We asked these experts, \u201cWhat does HBS Admissions look for?\u201d The consensus is that HBS\u00a0<\/i>seeks people who demonstrate ingenuity and innovative thinking and who also want to make a positive difference in the world with their MBA degrees.<\/p>\n For years, Harvard Business School<\/a> has bucked the trend of refreshing its essay prompts each season. Here is the perennial Harvard MBA essay question: As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?<\/strong><\/p>\n Besides asking an open-ended question, HBS doesn\u2019t have a word limit, which can be a real issue for many candidates (more on that later). But first, let\u2019s get back to the question at hand. There\u2019s one key word that everyone should be paying attention to, and that word is more<\/strong>. What more<\/em> would you like us to know?<\/p>\n Savvy applicants will realize that the word \u201cmore\u201d is critical. It can help narrow down ideas of what to write about because you don\u2019t want to repeat things HBS already knows from the rest of your materials. First, let\u2019s take a look at what they\u2019ll have already seen by the time they get to your essay:<\/p>\n In addition, past applicants have had 500 characters to share more about their career aspirations. When you think about all that, the admissions committee already knows a lot about you by the time they get to your essay. There\u2019s a good chance they may have developed some preconceived notions about you or what you might write about.<\/p>\n So, your goal with the Harvard MBA essay is to move or inspire the AdCom\u2014and maybe even surprise them. Don\u2019t play it safe and write about what they expect you to say. And definitely avoid blending in with all other applicants who might look like you<\/a> on paper. The essay is one of the only places in your materials where you can let some of your personality come through and set yourself apart<\/a>.<\/p>\n To hear this advice straight from Harvard MBA \/ SBC consultant Erika Olsen, Listen to B-Schooled Podcast Episode #62: How to Approach the HBS Essay<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n We encourage applicants to think about what motivates them, what they\u2019re passionate about, or why they\u2019ve made some of the big decisions they\u2019ve made so far in life. For some people, there\u2019s an obvious answer to what motivates them. Or there\u2019s a clear reason they chose certain classes, got involved in certain clubs, and even worked at a particular company. For these lucky candidates, their essays tie back to a core passion or something in their life that motivated them to pursue their current path.<\/p>\n But for many, many others, it\u2019s not at all clear. Applicants can get frustrated or feel defeated, thinking they\u2019re \u201ctoo normal\u201d or boring and haven\u2019t done anything extraordinary to stand out. Thus, they believe they don\u2019t have any shot of getting in. To those people, we say you don\u2019t have to have done anything extraordinary. But you need to do some soul-searching to think about how to fill in the blank spaces about yourself. You want to share something about yourself that there\u2019s no way they could know from the rest of your application.<\/p>\n Start by asking your friends and family what they think stands out about you. What concrete examples can they offer that give \u201cproof\u201d of the unique personal qualities they see? Often, there\u2019s an overlap between your best qualities and things that already appear on your resume. And that\u2019s okay. But the idea is to bring in new<\/em> dimensions that fill in the blanks for the HBS admissions committee.<\/p>\n If your essay reads like a laundry list of accomplishments, or like a paragraph version of your resume that just rehashes the bullet points, that is \u2026 not good.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n For example, a client in the healthcare industry might connect to a highly personal reason for wanting to get into healthcare consulting after their MBA. Perhaps they learned something during a project that wouldn\u2019t appear on a resume, but that led them to realize what they wanted their future career to look like. So, it\u2019s fine to mention an accomplishment or something that might already be on your resume. But you\u2019re filling in the details that make it come to life for them. That\u2019s the difference. You want to ensure that when you read your essay draft, it couldn\u2019t be about anyone else but you.<\/p>\n One of SBC\u2019s resident HBS experts shared an anecdote of an applicant who had engineered a soccer ball that could be kicked around and then used to provide electricity for a short period of time. He wanted to bring this technology to underdeveloped areas in Africa, and it made quite a compelling story. \u201cHowever, it\u2019s important that the stories you tell are genuine,\u201d our SBC consultant cautions.\u00a0 \u201cIt can often show through when it\u2019s been fabricated or forced.\u201d<\/p>\n Need help with your Harvard MBA essay? We\u2019ve got you! Here\u2019s a sample of the HBS Admissions expertise on our team<\/a>:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re struggling to come up with an all-encompassing, comprehensive theme, don\u2019t worry. That\u2019s going to work for some people but not for everybody. The following is the next best thing. First, make a list of the most defining moments and experiences of your life and the things you are passionate about. Next, ask friends and family members to share some standout memories they have of you. Did you have a life-changing travel experience? Do you have an unusual hobby? Are you known for making everyone feel welcome, no matter the scenario?<\/p>\n It\u2019s okay if you end up with a bunch of unrelated things. The final step is to choose three or four top passions or defining moments or experiences. Then you can write mini-essays about each of them as your response.<\/p>\n Do not<\/em> drive yourself crazy trying to come up with an overarching theme that feels corny or forced.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We\u2019ve had clients take this approach and get admitted. Sometimes, they chose to open their Harvard MBA essay with something like, \u201cI wanted to share the following three anecdotes to give insight into what motivates me.\u201d That way, a setup at the beginning brings structure to the subsequent sections.<\/p>\n A note of caution:<\/strong> Do not include any \u2018Why HBS?\u2019 content in your essay response. Whereas other schools want to know why you think they are a good fit for your career plans, Harvard knows why applicants choose to apply to their program. (See annual application numbers above.)<\/p>\n While there\u2019s no explicit word count, the Harvard Business School AdCom has always valued brevity. Why? Because when you look at most leaders across any industry or domain, they usually know how to make their point succinctly. So if your essay clocks in at 2,000 words, they might get a pit in their stomach before they even start reading it.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had countless clients write about mind-blowing life experiences in under 1,000 words. Again, it doesn\u2019t have to be something crazy that they did. It could just be really unique in the sense of beautiful and small but passionate and authentic. Don\u2019t be the person who thinks their story is so incredible that it justifies being twice that long. Your safe bet is to aim between 800-1,200 words.<\/p>\n Writing the Harvard MBA essay is not going to be a quick process. This isn\u2019t like a more straightforward goal or achievement-focused essay with an obvious topic in the question. You can\u2019t rush this one. Our advice is to start early, write and rewrite, and then don\u2019t look at the draft for a week. When you come back to it, do some more tinkering.<\/p>\n Your Harvard MBA essay should make the AdCom excited to meet you to see if you\u2019re as engaging in person as you\u2019re coming off in that essay. If you approach the essay the right way and take enough time to do the required introspection, you stand a great chance of setting yourself up to receive one of those coveted HBS interview invites.<\/p>\n Good luck!<\/p>\n Request a free MBA advising session<\/a> with Stacy Blackman Consulting<\/a> to learn how we can help with your complete MBA applications.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The post Pro Tips for the Harvard MBA Essay<\/a> appeared first on Stacy Blackman Consulting - MBA Admissions Consulting<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Harvard Business School receives roughly 10,000 applications each admissions cycle. Now, pause for a moment to appreciate that mind-boggling number. We\u2019re not mentioning it to scare off potential applicants. Instead,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,749,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-stacy-blackman","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59809,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56999\/revisions\/59809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}One little word with oh so much meaning.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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![\"Harvard](\"https:\/\/www.stacyblackman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gummibarchen-fruit-gums-bear-sweetness-54633-734x487.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nHow to Find Inspiration for the Harvard MBA Essay<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nBut what if you can\u2019t think of an overarching theme? Are you doomed?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.stacyblackman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-suzy-hazelwood-1995842-1-1500x1000.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat about word count?<\/strong><\/h4>\n